Stress and social media: It’s complicated

NOT MUCH DIFFERENCE: Data did not support the notion that people become stressed from keeping up with social media networks like Facebook and Twitter, said researchers.

WASHINGTON: Using digital technologies does not directly cause stress, but social media can increase awareness of problems facing friends and family, and this stress is “contagious,” researchers said. 

A report by the Pew Research Centre and Rutgers University researchers concluded that the stress facing some users of social networks was related to “the cost of caring.”